


Look on a King (the Hypnotized by Jane remix)

by misura



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Apocalypse, Canon Divergence - Thor: The Dark World, Dark Jane, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-06 15:28:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4227087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What stands before them is not, Loki knows, the insignificant human being once known as Jane Foster.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [subjunctive](https://archiveofourown.org/users/subjunctive/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Look on a King](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3783676) by [subjunctive](https://archiveofourown.org/users/subjunctive/pseuds/subjunctive). 
  * In response to a prompt by [subjunctive](https://archiveofourown.org/users/subjunctive/pseuds/subjunctive) in the [remixmadness2015](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/remixmadness2015) collection. 



What stands before them is not, Loki knows, the insignificant human being once known as Jane Foster.

She's gone, obliterated by the Aether that has by now consumed both her body and her mind, leaving nothing but an empty shell, possessed of only the vaguest semblance of Jane-ness. A trick of the mind; some pointless illusion to stay the hands of those who would seek to stop her.

It's a mystery to him why the Aether would even bother with such things.

Certainly, the men next to him show no hesitation. With or without his aid, they will seek to detroy her - a fair enough aim, Loki supposes, given that, if left unchecked, she will most assuredly do the same to them and their pathetic little world.

"Don't think I'm not going to kick your ass after this," Hawkeye tells him, taking aim. "Just because we're on the same side _now_ , that doesn't make us friends all of a sudden."

A world that has been reduced to nothingness cannot be ruled. A mind that has been torn to shreds cannot be dominated. These are truths that Loki knows, truths he has used to convince all of his former enemies to permit his presence here, at their side.

Loki permits himself a smile as the arrow flies and misses. He might, he thinks, actually feel a moment's regret at snuffing out this one life, but then, one does what one must.

Besides, he's long grown weary of these humans and their constant complaints, anyway.

He wonders if Jane will permit him to study her, to seek for a way to reverse some of the damage that containing the Aether has done her, before they move on to Asgard.


	2. Harbinger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Thor at Asgard.

_One does not simply walk into Asgard._

He'd heard that somewhere, although of course the place one did not simply walk into had been different - and besides, here he was, walking into Asgard easy as you please, so it didn't really seem to apply to the current situation anyway.

It looked about as he remembered it, except that there didn't seem to be a lot of people around. Where for 'a lot' read: 'more than one'.

Given that the one person in question was the very person he'd come here to see ( _liar!_ ) there really wasn't any problem whatsoever.

 

"Brother," Thor said, which set the tone nicely. He looked like he hadn't slept for days and didn't hold out much hope for that changing any time soon.

That alone nearly made this visit worthwhile. "I was expecting your father."

'Your' not 'our'; even sleep-deprived, Thor had to notice the difference. He rallied admirably, though - all the better to be cut down to size again later, naturally.

Revenge is a wine best ripened over at least a few centuries, if possible.

"Our father has gone," said Thor. He'd always been a hopeless liar, so chances were, the mighty Odin had, indeed, fled like a coward. That certainly wouldn't have done any wonders for morale.

"Leaving you in charge?" No reason why Odin wouldn't; it wasn't as if any mistakes Thor might make would not fall into nothingness ( _literally_ ) the moment Jane arrived. "Did he name you King of Asgard, then?"

Thor looked uneasy, so probably the answer was 'no'. "He named me his son." His _only_ son, most likely; Odin was hardly the sentimental type. Thor grimaced. "As well as a fool and a traitor."

Well! Not a cowardly flight after all, then, but rather: an evacuation, leaving Asgard empty. Clever, in some ways; foolish, in others. Asgard's treasury was filled with wonders, some of which might perhaps have offered at least a chance of defense against the Aether.

Granted, few people ever ventured into the vaults. He'd been there himself, often, and he knew Mother had begun a cataloguing process. She'd never finish it now, probably, although she might have taken some things with her. He'd have to check, after getting rid of Thor, before Jane arrived.

"You _are_ a fool, if you think you can stand against us." Was there an 'us'? It was hard to tell, sometimes; Jane seemed to be fading in and out, although recently, 'out' was more often the case than 'in'. She spoke, a few words at a time and there was still a presence behind her eyes.

The Aether destroyed; it did not consume. Destroying an entire realm might relieve some of the pressure, permitting the Aether to expand outside of its current host. With a thinner concentration of Aether within Jane herself, real progress, real _healing_ might be achieved.

It would only offer a temporal solution, naturally. Humans ( _mortals_ ) were simply not meant to harness such powers. Eventually, Jane would die and the Aether would either die with her, or not.

"I am not here to fight you," Thor said. "Only to talk."

Humility? Not a quality he'd detected in his brother before. "And what would you have me hear? What could you _possibly_ have to say to me that's worth dying for? Deserting our father - " _damn it!_ " - in his hour of need? Traitor and fool, indeed."

"You would see all of Asgard destroyed?" Thor asked. "Out of spite?"

 _Well, obviously._ Self-knowledge was the beginning of all wisdom. "Do you imagine you can stop me with mere words?"

Thor knelt. A ridiculous, _empty_ gesture. He'd only ever knelt in public, before the throne. "Then take my life, but spare our realm. Our home."

Arrogance, after all. Much more familiar. "This was never my home." His rooms had probably been cleared out months ago. "And your life, your _death_ is of no value to me." The Hawk had turned to him, once, before the end. His expression had seemed ... wounded. Betrayed. As if he had anyone but himself to blame for placing his trust in someone whom he should have known to be utterly untrustworthy.

"Is hers?" Thor asked, looking up.

It was, all things considered, a worthy strike. Thus, it deserved a fair defense. "Yes."

Thor rose. There had been a time when he had not always seemed to know his own strength. That time was past. As such, the unexpected hug did not crush every bone in Loki's body.

Which did not mean that it was in any way comfortable, of course, or even expected.

"If any man is capable of this feat, it must be you," Thor said. He was actually smiling now, adding insult to injury. "I wish you well, then, brother."

_I wish you a slow, miserable death in a run-down hovel that in Asgard would not have been considered fit for even the pigs._

Thor nodded slowly. Presumably, he was still incapable of reading other people's minds. "Now I see our father's wisdom. A sacrifice, yes, but palaces and realms, they can be rebuilt."

 _Not once Jane is through with them._ It would be centuries before anything might grow again on Earth. Of course, Asgardians could afford to think in such terms. Still. _Wisdom? Call it what it is, brother. Call it 'fear'._ Naturally, Thor was too stupid to feel fear.

It was a relief to be allowed back on his own feet. "Do that again and I might kill you after all."

Thor laughed. _Definitely_ too stupid to feel fear. "Keep yourself safe, brother."

 _Yes, well, it's not as if anyone else has volunteered for the job, is it?_ "Go away."

Thor went. His shoulders were very straight, no slumping at all. _"If any man is capable of this feat, then it must be you."_ What a thing to say to someone who'd tried to kill you.

It had to feel nice to be so unburdened by intelligence, by a proper understanding of what was going on here, of what hung in the balance.

He'd heard a song, once, on Earth. _It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine._

Although, world? Try universe.

**Author's Note:**

> this started out a lot more 'Jane as Carina' and a lot less 'Loki just has chronic backstabbing disorder, okay?' but er, well, Jane is not Carina? or so my defense goes, anyway. ^^;
> 
> (I guess what I'm saying is, this got a bit further away from the original than I intended, but I still like it and I hope you do, too.)


End file.
